Chapter 4

The imports of fresh flowers into the United Kingdom were not separately shown prior to 1900. In that year, however, their value amounted to £200,585, in 1901 to £225,011, in 1906 to £233,884, in 1907 to £233,641, and in 1908 to £229,802, so that the trade showed a fairly steady condition. From the monthly totals quoted in Table VI. it would appear that the trade sinks to its minimum dimensions in the four months July to October inclusive, and that after September the business continually expands up to April, subsequent to which contraction again sets in. About one-half of the trade belongs practically to the three months of February, March and April.Table VI.—Values of Fresh Flowers imported into the United Kingdom.Month.1906.1907.1908.January£31,035£18,545£29,180February34,64725,54130,541March50,23242,61135,185April30,80950,41842,681May22,98021,76723,129June17,64118,35816,904July3,3864,5093,467August1,6461,5391,081September852736953October4,4813,1804,504November17,50615,76315,097December18,66930,67427,080Total£233,884£233,641£229,802

Table VI.—Values of Fresh Flowers imported into the United Kingdom.

Hothouse Culture of Fruit and Flowers.—The cultivation of fruit and flowers under glass has increased enormously since about the year 1880, especially in the neighbourhood of London, where large sums of money have been sunk in the erection and equipment of hothouses. In the parish of Cheshunt, Herts, alone there are upwards of 130 acres covered with glass, and between that place on the north and London on the south extensive areas of land are similarly utilized. In Middlesex, in the north, in the districts of Edmonton, Enfield, Ponders End and Finchley, and in the west from Isleworth to Hampton, Feltham, Hillingdon, Sipson and Uxbridge, many crops are now cultivated under glass. At Erith, Swanley, and other places in Kent, as also at Worthing, in Sussex, glass-house culture has much extended. A careful estimate puts the area of industrial hothouses in England at about 1200 acres, but it is probably much more than this. Most of the greenhouses are fixtures, but in some parts of the kingdom structures that move on rails and wheels are used, to enable the ground to be prepared in the open for one crop while another is maturing under glass. The leading products are grapes, tomatoes and cucumbers, the last-named two being true fruits from the botanist’s point of view, though commercially included with vegetables. To these may be added on the same ground dwarf or French beans, and runner or climbing beans. Peaches, nectarines and strawberries are largely grown under glass, and, in private hothouses—from which the produce is used mainly for household consumption, and which are not taken into consideration here—pineapples, figs and other fruit. Conservative estimates indicate the average annual yield of hothouse grapes to be about 12 tons per acre and of tomatoes 20 tons. The greater part of the space in the hothouses is assigned to fruit, but whilst some houses are devoted exclusively to flowers, in others, where fruit is the main object, flowers are forced in considerable quantities in winter and early spring. The flowers grown under glass include tulips, hyacinths, primulas, cyclamens, spiraeas, mignonettes, fuchsias,calceolarias, roses, chrysanthemums, daffodils, arum lilies or callas, liliums, azaleas, eucharises, camellias, stephanotis, tuberoses, bouvardias, gardenias, heaths or ericas, poinsettias, lilies of the valley, zonal pelargoniums, tuberous and fibrous rooted begonias, and many others. There is an increasing demand for foliage hothouse plants, such as ferns, palms, crotons, aspidistras, araucarias, dracaenas, India-rubber plants, aralias, grevilleas, &c. Berried plants like solanums and aucubas also find a ready sale, while the ornamental kinds of asparagus such assprengeriandplumosusnanus, are ever in demand for trailing decorations, as well as myrsiphyilum. Special mention must be made of the winter or perpetual flowering carnations which are now grown by hundreds of thousands in all parts of the kingdom for decorative work during the winter season. The converse of forcing plants into early blossom is adopted with such an important crop as lily of the valley. During the summer season the crowns are placed in refrigerators with about 2 degrees of frost, and quantities are taken out as required every week and transferred to the greenhouse to develop. Tomatoes are grown largely in houses exclusively occupied by them, in which case two and sometimes three crops can be gathered in the year. In the Channel Islands, where potatoes grown under glass are lifted in April and May, in order to secure the high prices of the early markets, tomato seedlings are planted out from boxes into the ground as quickly as the potatoes are removed, the tomato planter working only a few rows behind the potato digger. The trade in imported tomatoes is so considerable that home growers are well justified in their endeavours to meet the demand more fully with native produce, whether raised under glass or in the open. Tomatoes were not separately enumerated in the imports previous to 1900. It has already been stated that in 1900 the raw tomatoes imported amounted to 833,032 cwt., valued at £792,339, and in 1901 to 793,991 cwt., valued at £734,051. From the monthly quantities given in Table VII., it would appear that the imports are largest in June, July and August, about one-half of the year’s total arriving during those three months. It is too early in June and July for home-grown outdoor tomatoes to enter into competition with the imported product, but home-grown hothouse tomatoes should be qualified to challenge this trade.

TableVII.—Quantities of Tomatoes imported into the United Kingdom.

An important feature of modern flower growing is the production and cultivation of what are known as “hardy herbaceous perennials.” Some 2000 or 3000 different species and varieties of these are now raised in special nurseries; and during the spring, summer and autumn seasons magnificent displays are to be seen not only in the markets but at the exhibitions in London and at the great provincial shows held throughout the kingdom. The production of many of these perennials is so easy that amateurs in several instances have taken it up as a business hobby; and in some cases, chiefly through advertising in the horticultural press, very lucrative concerns have been established.

Ornamental flowering trees and shrubs constitute another feature of modern gardening. These are grown and imported by thousands chiefly for their sprays of blossom or foliage, and for planting in large or small gardens, public parks, &c., for landscape effect. Indeed there is scarcely an easily grown plant from the northern or southern temperate zones that does not now find a place in the nursery or garden, provided it is sufficiently attractive to sell for its flowers, foliage or appearance.

Conditions of the Fruit and Flower growing Industries.—As regards open-air fruit-growing, the outlook for new ventures is perhaps brighter than in the hothouse industry, not—as Mr Bear has pointed out—because the area of fruit land in England is too small, but because the level of efficiency, from the selection of varieties to the packing and marketing of the produce, is very much lower in the former than in the latter branch of enterprise. In other words, whereas the practice of the majority of hothouse nurserymen is so skilled, so up-to-date, and so entirely under high pressure that a new competitor, however well trained, will find it difficult to rise above mediocrity, the converse is true of open-air fruit-growers. Many, and an increasing proportion, of the latter are thoroughly efficient in all branches of their business, and are in possession of plantations of the best market varieties of fruit, well cultivated, pruned and otherwise managed. But the extent of fruit plantations completely up to the mark in relation to varieties and treatment of trees and bushes, and in connexion with which the packing and marketing of the produce are equally satisfactory, is small in proportion to the total fruit area of the country. Information concerning the best treatment of fruit trees has spread widely in recent years, and old plantations, as a rule, suffer from the neglect or errors of the past, however skilful their present holders may be. Although the majority of professional market fruit-growers may be well up to the standard in skill, there are numerous contributors to the fruit supply who are either ignorant of the best methods of cultivation and marketing or careless in their application. The bad condition of the great majority of farm orchards is notorious, and many landowners, farmers and amateur gardeners who have planted fruit on a more or less extensive scale have mismanaged their undertakings. For these reasons new growers of open-air fruit for market have opportunities of succeeding by means of superiority to the majority of those with whom they will compete, provided that they possess the requisite knowledge, energy and capital. It has been asserted on sound authority that there is no chance of success for fruit-growers except in districts favourable as regards soil, climate and nearness to a railway or a good market; and, even under these conditions, only for men who have had experience in the industry and are prepared to devote their unremitting attention to it. Most important is it to a beginner that he should ascertain the varieties of fruit that flourish best in his particular district. Certain kinds seem to do well or fairly well in all parts of the country; others, whilst heavy croppers in some localities, are often unsatisfactory in others.

As has been intimated, there is probably in England less room for expansion of fruit culture under glass than in the open. The large increase of glass-houses in modern times appears to have brought the supply of hothouse produce, even at greatly reduced prices, at least up to the level of the demand; and as most nurserymen continue to extend their expanse of glass, the prospect for new competitors is not a bright one. Moreover, the vast scale upon which some of the growers conduct the hothouse industry puts small producers at a great disadvantage, not only because the extensive producers can grow grapes and other fruit more economically than small growers—with the possible exception of those who do all or nearly all their own work—but also, and still more, because the former have greater advantages in transporting and marketing their fruit. There has, in recent years, been a much greater fall in the prices of hothouse than of open-air fruit, especially under the existing system of distribution, which involves the payment by consumers of 50 to 100% more in prices than growers receive. The best openings for new nurseries are probably not where they are now to be found in large groups, and especially not in the neighbourhoodof London, but in suitable spots near the great centres of population in the Midlands and the North, or big towns elsewhere not already well supplied with nurseries. By such a selection of a locality the beginner may build up a retail trade in hothouse fruit, or at least a trade with local fruiterers and grocers, thus avoiding railway charges and salesmen’s commissions to a great extent, though it may often be advantageous to send certain kinds of produce to a distant market. Above all, a man who has no knowledge of the hothouse industry should avoid embarking his capital in it, trusting himself in the hands of a foreman, as experience shows that such a venture usually leads to disaster. Some years of training in different nurseries are desirable for any young man who is desirous of becoming a grower of hothouse fruits or flowers.

There can be no doubt that flower-growing is greatly extending in England, and that competition among home growers is becoming more severe. Foreign supplies of flowers have increased, but not nearly as greatly in proportion as home supplies, and it seems clear that home growers have gained ground in relation to their foreign rivals, except with respect to flowers for the growth of which foreigners have extraordinary natural advantages. There seems some danger of the home culture of the narcissus being over-done, and the florists’ chrysanthemum appears to be produced in excess of the demand. Again, in the production of violets the warm and sunny South of France has an advantage not possessed by England, whilst Holland, likewise for climatic reasons, maintains her hold upon the hyacinth and tulip trade. Whether the production of flowers as a whole is gaining ground upon the demand or not is a difficult question to answer. It is true that the prices of flowers have fallen generally; but production, at any rate under glass, has been cheapened, and if a fair profit can be obtained, the fall in prices, without which the existing consumption of flowers would be impossible, does not necessarily imply over-production. There is some difference of opinion among growers upon this point; but nearly all agree that profits are now so small that production on a large scale is necessary to provide a fair income. Industrial flower-growing affords such a wide scope for the exercise of superior skill, industry and alertness, that it is not surprising to find some who are engaged in it doing remarkably well to all appearance, while others are struggling on and hardly paying their way. That a man with only a little capital, starting in a small way, has many disadvantages is certain; also, that his chance of saving money and extending his business quickly is much smaller than it was. To the casual looker-on, who knows nothing of the drudgery of the industry, flower-growing seems a delightful method of getting a living. That it is an entrancing pursuit there is no doubt; but it is equally true that it is a very arduous one, requiring careful forethought, ceaseless attention and abundant energy. Fortunately for those who might be tempted, without any knowledge of the industry, to embark capital in it, flower-growing, if at all comprehensive in scope, so obviously requires a varied and extensive technical knowledge, combined with good commercial ability, that any one can see that a thorough training is necessary to a man who intends to adopt it as a business, especially if hothouse flowers are to be produced.

The market for fruit, and more especially for flowers, is a fickle one, and there is nearly always some uncertainty as to the course of prices. The perishable nature of soft fruit and cut flowers renders the markets very sensitive to anything in the nature of a glut, the occurrence of which is usually attended with disastrous results to producers. Foreign competition, moreover, has constantly to be faced, and it is likely to increase rather than diminish. French growers have a great advantage over the open-air cultivators of England, for the climate enables them to get their produce into the markets early in the season, when the highest prices are obtainable. The geographical advantage which France enjoys in being so near to England is, however, considerably discounted by the increasing facilities for cold storage in transit, both by rail and sea. The development of such facilities permits of the retail sale in England of luscious fruit as fresh and attractive as when it was gathered beneath the sunny skies of California. In the case of flowers, fashion is an element not to be ignored. Flowers much in request in one season may meet with very little demand in another, and it is difficult for the producer to anticipate the changes which caprice may dictate. Even for the same kind of flower the requirements are very uncertain, and the white blossom which is all the rage in one season may be discarded in favour of one of another colour in the next. The sale of fresh flowers for church decoration at Christmas and Easter has reached enormous dimensions. The irregularity in the date of the festival, however, causes some inconvenience to growers. If it falls very early the great bulk of suitable flowers may not be sufficiently forward for sale, whilst a late Easter may find the season too far advanced. The trade in cut flowers, therefore, is generally attended by uncertainty, and often by anxiety.

(W. Fr.; J. Ws.)

United States

In the United States horticulture and market gardening have now assumed immense proportions. In a country of over 3,000,000 sq. m., stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific on the one hand, and from the Gulf of Mexico to the great northern lakes and the Dominion of Canada on the other, a great variation of climatic conditions is not unnatural. From a horticultural point of view there are practically two well-defined regions: (1) that to the east of the Rocky Mountains across to the Atlantic, where the climate is more like that of eastern Asia than of western Europe so far as rainfall, temperature and seasonable conditions are concerned; (2) that to the west of the Rockies, known as the Pacific coast region, where the climate is somewhat similar to that of western Europe. It may be added that in the northern states—in Washington, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, &c.—the winters are often very severe, while the southern states practically enjoy a temperature somewhat similar to that of the Riviera. Indeed the range of temperature between the extreme northern states and the extreme southern may vary as much as 120° F. The great aim of American gardeners, therefore, has been to find out or to produce the kinds of fruits, flowers and vegetables that are likely to flourish in different parts of this immense country.

Fruit Culture.—There is probably no country in the world where so many different kinds of fruit can be grown with advantage to the nation as in the United States. In the temperate regions apples, pears and plums are largely grown, and orchards of these are chiefly to be found in the states of New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Missouri, Colorado, and also in northern Texas, Arkansas and N. California. To these may be added cranberries and quinces, which are chiefly grown in the New England states. The quinces are not a crop of first-rate importance, but as much as 800,000 bushels of cranberries are grown each year. The peach orchards are assuming great proportions, and are chiefly to be found in Georgia and Texas, while grapes are grown throughout the Republic from east to west in all favourable localities. Oranges, lemons and citrons are more or less extensively grown in Florida and California, and in these regions what are known as Japanese or “Kelsey” plums (forms ofPrunus triflora) are also grown as marketable crops. Pomegranates are not yet largely grown, but it is possible their culture will develop in southern Texas and Louisiana, where the climate is tempered by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Tomatoes are grown in most parts of the country so easily that there is frequently a glut; while the strawberry region extends from Florida to Virginia, Pennsylvania and other states—thus securing a natural succession from south to north for the various great market centres.

Of the fruits mentioned apples are undoubtedly the most important. Not only are the American people themselves supplied with fresh fruit, but immense quantities are exported to Europe—Great Britain alone absorbing as much as 1,430,000 cwt. in 1908. The varieties originally grown were of course those taken or introduced from Europe by the early settlers. Since the middle of the 19th century great changes have been brought about, and the varieties mostly cultivated now are distinctly American. They have been raised by crossing and intercrossing the most suitable European forms with others since imported from Russia. In the extreme northern states indeed, where it is essential to have apple trees that will stand the severest winters, the Russian varieties crossed with the berry crab of eastern Europe (Pyrus baccata) have produceda race eminently suited to that particular region. The individual fruits are not very large, but the trees are remarkably hardy. Farther south larger fruited varieties are grown, and among these may be noted Baldwins, Newton pippins, Spitzenbergs and Rhode Island greening. Apple orchards are numerous in the State of New York, where it is estimated that over 100,000 acres are devoted to them. In the hilly regions of Missouri, Arkansas and Colorado there are also great plantations of apples. The trees, however, are grown on different principles from those in New York State. In the latter state apple trees with ordinary care live to more than 100 years of age and produce great crops; in the other states, however, an apple tree is said to be middle-aged at 20, decrepit at 30 and practically useless at 40 years of age. They possess the advantage, however, of bearing early and heavily.

Until the introduction of the cold-storage system, about the year 1880, America could hardly be regarded as a commercial fruit-growing country. Since then, however, owing to the great improvements made in railway refrigerating vans and storage houses, immense quantities of fruit can be despatched in good condition to any part of the world; or they can be kept at home in safety until such time as the markets of Chicago, New York, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, &c., are considered favourable for their reception.

Apple trees are planted at distances varying from 25 ft. to 30 ft. apart in the middle western states, to 40 ft. to 50 ft. apart in New York State. Here and there, however, in some of the very best orchards the trees are planted 60 ft. apart every way. Each tree thus has a chance to develop to its utmost limits, and as air and light reach it better, a far larger fruit-bearing surface is secured. Actual experience has shown that trees planted at 60 ft. apart—about 28 to the acre—produce more fruit by 43 bushels than trees at 30 ft. apart—i.e.about 48 to the acre.

Until recent years pruning as known to English and French gardeners was practically unknown. There was indeed no great necessity for it, as the trees, not being cramped for space, threw their branches outwards and upwards, and thus rarely become overcrowded. When practised, however, the operation could scarcely be called pruning; lopping or trimming would be more accurate descriptions.

Apple orchards are not immune from insect pests and fungoid diseases, and an enormous business is now done in spraying machines and various insecticides. It pays to spray the trees, and figures have been given to show that orchards that have been sprayed four times have produced an average income of £211 per acre against £103 per acre from unsprayed orchards.

The spring frosts are also troublesome, and in the Colorado and other orchards the process known as “smudging” is now adopted to save the crops. This consists in placing 20 or 30, or even more, iron or tin pots to an acre, each pot containing wooden chips soaked in tar (or pitch) mixed with kerosene. Whenever the thermometer shows 3 or 4 degrees of frost the smudge-pots are lighted. A dense white smoke then arises and is diffused throughout the orchards, enveloping the blossoming heads of the trees in a dense cloud. This prevents the frost from killing the tender pistils in the blossoms, and when several smudge-pots are alight at the same time the temperature of the orchard is raised two or three degrees. This work has generally to be done between 3 and 5A.M., and the growers naturally have an anxious time until all danger is over. The failure to attend to smudging, even on one occasion, may result in the loss of the entire crop of plums, apples or pears.

Next to apples perhaps peaches are the most important fruit crop. The industry is chiefly carried on in Georgia, Texas and S. Carolina, and on a smaller scale in some of the adjoining states. Peaches thus flourish in regions that are quite unsuitable for apples or pears. In many orchards in Georgia, where over 3,000,000 acres have been planted, there are as many as 100,000 peach trees; while some of the large fruit companies grow as many as 365,000. In one place in West Virginia there is, however, a peach orchard containing 175,000 trees, and in Missouri another company has 3 sq. m. devoted to peach culture. As a rule the crops do well. Sometimes, however, a disease known as the “yellows” makes sad havoc amongst them, and scarcely a fruit is picked in an orchard which early in the season gave promise of a magnificent crop.

Plums are an important crop in many states. Besides the European varieties and those that have been raised by crossing with American forms, there is now a growing trade done in Japanese plums. The largest of these is popularly known as “Kelseys,” named after John Kelsey, who raised the first fruit in 1876 from trees brought to California in 1870. Sometimes the fruits are 3 in. in diameter, and like most of the Japanese varieties are more heart-shaped and pointed than plums of European origin. One apparent drawback to the Kelsey plum is its irregularity in ripening. It has been known in some years to be quite ripe in June, while in others the fruits are still green in October.

Pears are much grown in such states as Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri and California; while bush fruits like currants, gooseberries and raspberries find large spaces devoted in most of the middle and northern states. Naturally a good deal of crossing and intercrossing has taken place amongst the European and American forms of these fruits, but so far as gooseberries are concerned no great advance seems to have been made in securing varieties capable of resisting the devastating gooseberry mildew.

Other fruits of more or less commercial value are oranges, lemons and citrons, chiefly in Florida. Lemons are practically a necessity to the American people, owing to the heat of the summers, when cool and refreshing drinks with an agreeable acidulous taste are in great demand. The pomelo (grape-fruit) is a kind of lemon with a thicker rind and a more acid flavour. At one time its culture was confined to Florida, but of recent years it has found its way into Californian orchards. Notwithstanding the prevailing mildness of the climate in both California and Florida, the crops of oranges, lemons, citrons, &c., are sometimes severely injured by frosts when in blossom.

Other fruits likely to be heard of in the future are the kaki or persimmon, the loquat, which is already grown in Louisiana, as well as the pomegranate.

Great aid and encouragement are given by the government to the progress of American fruit-growing, and by the experiments that are being constantly carried out and tabulated at Cornell University and by the U.S.A. department of agriculture.

Flower Culture.—So far as flowers are concerned there appears to be little difference between the kinds of plants grown in the United States and in England, France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, &c. Indeed there is a great interchange of new varieties of plants between Europe and America, and modifications in systems of culture are being gradually introduced from one side of the Atlantic to the other. The building of greenhouses for commercial purposes is perhaps on a somewhat different scale from that in England, but there are probably no extensive areas of glass such as are to be seen north of London from Enfield Highway to Broxburne. Hot water apparatus differs merely in detail, although most of the boilers used resemble those on the continent of Europe rather than in England. Great business is done in bulbs—mostly imported from Holland—stove and greenhouse plants, hardy perennials, orchids, ferns of the “fancy” and “dagger” types of Nephrolepis, and in carnations and roses. Amongst the latter thousands of such varieties as Beauty, Liberty, Killarney, Richmond and Bride are grown, and realize good prices as a rule in the markets. Carnations of the winter-flowering or “perpetual” type have long been grown in America, and enormous prices have been given for individual plants on certain occasions, rivalling the fancy prices paid in England for certain orchids. The American system of carnation-growing has quite captivated English cultivators, and new varieties are being constantly raised in both countries. Chrysanthemums are another great feature of American florists, and sometimes during the winter season a speculative grower will send a living specimen to one of the London exhibitions in the hope of booking large orders for cuttings of it later on. Sweetpeas, dahlias, lilies of the valley, arum lilies and indeed every flower that is popular in England is equally popular in America, and consequently is largely grown.

Vegetables.—So far as these are concerned, potatoes, cabbages, cauliflowers, beans of all kinds, cucumbers, tomatoes (already referred to under fruits), musk-melons, lettuces, radishes, endives, carrots, &c.; are naturally grown in great quantities, not only in the open air, but also under glass. The French system of intensive cultivation as practised on hot beds of manure round Paris is practically unknown at present. In the southern states there would be no necessity to practise it, but in the northern ones it is likely to attract attention.

(J. Ws.)

1Jour. Roy. Agric. Soc., 1899.

FRUMENTIUS(c.300-c.360), the founder of the Abyssinian church, traditionally identified in Abyssinian literature with Abba Salama or Father of Peace (but seeEthiopia), was a native of Phoenicia. According to the 4th-century historian Rufinus (x. 9), who gives Aedesius himself as his authority, a certain Tyrian, Meropius, accompanied by his kinsmen Frumentius and Aedesius, set out on an expedition to “India,” but fell into the hands of Ethiopians on the shore of the Red Sea and, with his ship’s crew, was put to death. The two young men were taken to the king at Axum, where they were well treated and in time obtained great influence. With the help of Christian merchants who visited the country Frumentius gave Christianity a firm footing, which was strengthened when in 326 he was consecrated bishop by Athanasius of Alexandria, who in hisEpistola ad Constantinummentions the consecration, and gives some details of the history of Frumentius’s mission. Later witnesses speak of his fidelity to the homoousian during the Arian controversies. Aedesius returned to Tyre, where he was ordained presbyter.

FRUNDSBERG, GEORG VON(1473-1528), German soldier, was born at Mindelheim on the 24th of September 1473. He fought for the German king Maximilian I. against the Swiss in 1499, and in the same year was among the imperial troops sent to assist Ludovico Sforza, duke of Milan, against the French. Still serving Maximilian, he took part in 1504 in the war over the succession to the duchy of Bavaria-Landshut, and afterwards fought in the Netherlands. Convinced of the necessity of a native body of trained infantry Frundsberg assisted Maximilian to organize theLandsknechte(q.v.), and subsequently at the head of bands of these formidable troops he was of great service to the Empire and the Habsburgs. In 1509 he shared in the war against Venice, winning fame for himself and his men; and after a short visit to Germany returned to Italy, where in 1513 and 1514 he gained fresh laurels by his enterprises against the Venetians and the French. Peace being made, he returned to Germany, and at the head of the infantry of the Swabian league assisted to drive Ulrich of Württemberg from his duchy in 1519. At the diet of Worms in 1521 he spoke words of encouragement to Luther, and when the struggle between France and the Empire was renewed he took part in the invasion of Picardy, and then proceeding to Italy brought the greater part of Lombardy under the influence of Charles V. through his victory at Bicocca in April 1522. He was partly responsible for the great victory over the French at Pavia in February 1525, and, returning to Germany, he assisted to suppress the Peasant revolt, using on this occasion, however, diplomacy as well as force. When the war in Italy was renewed Frundsberg raised an army at his own expense, and skilfully surmounting many difficulties, joined the constable de Bourbon near Piacenza and marched towards Rome. Before he reached the city, however, his unpaid troops showed signs of mutiny, and their leader, stricken with illness and unable to pacify them, gave up his command. Returning to Germany, he died at Mindelheim on the 20th of August 1528. He was a capable and chivalrous soldier, and a devoted servant of the Habsburgs. His son Caspar (1500-1536) and his grandson Georg (d. 1586) were both soldiers of some distinction. With the latter’s death the family became extinct.

See Adam Reissner,Historia Herrn Georgs und Herrn Kaspars von Frundsberg(Frankfort, 1568). A German translation of this work was published at Frankfort in 1572. F.W. Barthold,Georg von Frundsberg(Hamburg, 1833); J. Heilmann,Kriegsgeschichte von Bayern, Franken, Pfalz und Schwaben(Munich, 1868).

FRUSTUM(Latin for a “piece broken off”), a term in geometry for the part of a solid figure, such as a cone or pyramid, cut off by a plane parallel to the base, or lying between two parallel planes; and hence in architecture a name given to the drum of a column.

FRUYTIERS, PHILIP(1627-1666), Flemish painter and engraver, was a pupil of the Jesuits’ college at Antwerp in 1627, and entered the Antwerp gild of painters without a fee in 1631. He is described in the register of that institution as “illuminator, painter and engraver.” The current account of his life is “that he worked exclusively in water colours, yet was so remarkable in this branch of his art for arrangement, drawing, and especially for force and clearness of colour, as to excite the admiration of Rubens, whom he portrayed with all his family.” The truth is that he was an artist of the most versatile talents, as may be judged from the fact that in 1646 he executed an Assumption with figures of life size, and four smaller pictures in oil, for the church of St Jacques at Antwerp, for which he received the considerable sum of 1150 florins. Unhappily no undoubted production of his hand has been preserved. All that we can point to with certainty is a series of etched plates, chiefly portraits, which are acknowledged to have been powerfully and skilfully handled. If, however, we search the portfolios of art collections on the European continent, we sometimes stumble upon miniatures on vellum, drawn with great talent and coloured with extraordinary brilliancy. In form they quite recall the works of Rubens, and these, it may be, are the work of Philip Fruytiers.

FRY,the name of a well-known English Quaker family, originally living in Wiltshire. About the middle of the 18th centuryJoseph Fry(1728-1787), a doctor, settled in Bristol, where he acquired a large practice, but eventually abandoned medicine for commerce. He became interested in china-making, soap-boiling and type-founding businesses in Bristol, and in a chemical works at Battersea, all of which ventures proved very profitable. The type-founding business was subsequently removed to London and conducted by his son Edmund. Joseph Fry, however, is best remembered as the founder of the great Bristol firm of J.S. Fry & Sons, chocolate manufacturers. He purchased the chocolate-making patent of William Churchman and on it laid the foundations of the present large business. After his death the Bristol chocolate factory was carried on with increasing success by his widow and by his son,Joseph Storrs Fry(1767-1835).

In 1795 a new and larger factory was built in Union Street, Bristol, which still forms the centre of the firm’s premises, and in 1798 a Watt’s steam-engine was purchased and the cocoa-beans ground by steam. On the death of Joseph Storrs Fry his three sons, Joseph (1795-1879), Francis, and Richard (1807-1878) became partners in the firm, the control being mainly in the hands ofFrancis Fry(1803-1886). Francis Fry was in every way a remarkable character. The development of the business to its modern enormous proportion was chiefly his work, but this did not exhaust his activities. He took a principal part in the introduction of railways to the west of England, and in 1852 drew up a scheme for a general English railway parcel service. He was an ardent bibliographer, taking a special interest in early English Bibles, of which he made in the course of a long life a large and striking collection, and of the most celebrated of which he published facsimiles with bibliographical notes. Francis Fry died in 1886, and his son Francis J. Fry and nephew Joseph Storrs Fry carried on the business, which in 1896 was for family reasons converted into a private limited company, Joseph Storrs Fry being chairman and all the directors members of the Fry family.

FRY, SIR EDWARD(1827- ), English judge, second son of Joseph Fry (1795-1879), was born at Bristol on the 4th of November 1827, and educated at University College, London, and London University. He was called to the bar in 1854 and was made a Q.C. in 1869, practising in the rolls court and becoming recognized as a leading equity lawyer. In 1877 he was raised to the bench and knighted. As chancery judge he will beremembered for his careful interpretations and elucidations of the Judicature Acts, then first coming into operation. In 1883 he was made a lord justice of appeal, but resigned in 1892; and subsequently his knowledge of equity and talents for arbitration were utilized by the British government from time to time in various special directions, particularly as chairman of many commissions. He was also one of the British representatives at the Paris North Sea Inquiry Commission (1905), and was appointed a member of the Hague Permanent Arbitration Court. He wroteA Treatise on the Specific Performance of Public Contracts(London, 1858, and many subsequent editions).

FRY, ELIZABETH(1780-1845), English philanthropist, and, after Howard, the chief promoter of prison reform in Europe, was born in Norwich on the 21st of May 1780. Her father, John Gurney, afterwards of Earlham Hall, a wealthy merchant and banker, represented an old family which for some generations had belonged to the Society of Friends. While still a girl she gave many indications of the benevolence of disposition, clearness and independence of judgment, and strength of purpose, for which she was afterwards so distinguished; but it was not until after she had entered her eighteenth year that her religion assumed a decided character, and that she was induced, under the preaching of the American Quaker, William Savery, to become an earnest and enthusiastic though never fanatical “Friend.” In August 1800 she became the wife of Joseph Fry, a London merchant.

Amid increasing family cares she was unwearied in her attention to the poor and the neglected of her neighbourhood; and in 1811 she was acknowledged by her co-religionists as a “minister,” an honour and responsibility for which she was undoubtedly qualified, not only by vigour of intelligence and warmth of heart, but also by an altogether unusual faculty of clear, fluent and persuasive speech. Although she had made several visits to Newgate prison as early as February 1813, it was not until nearly four years afterwards that the great public work of her life may be said to have begun. The association for the Improvement of the Female Prisoners in Newgate was formed in April 1817. Its aim was the much-needed establishment of some of what are now regarded as the first principles of prison discipline, such as entire separation of the sexes, classification of criminals, female supervision for the women, and adequate provision for their religious and secular instruction, as also for their useful employment. The ameliorations effected by this association, and largely by the personal exertions of Mrs Fry, soon became obvious, and led to a rapid extension of similar methods to other places. In 1818 she, along with her brother, visited the prisons of Scotland and the north of England; and the publication (1819) of the notes of this tour, as also the cordial recognition of the value of her work by the House of Commons committee on the prisons of the metropolis, led to a great increase of her correspondence, which now extended to Italy, Denmark and Russia, as well as to all parts of the United Kingdom. Through a visit to Ireland, which she made in 1827, she was led to direct her attention to other houses of detention besides prisons; and her observations resulted in many important improvements in the British hospital system, and in the treatment of the insane. In 1838 she visited France, and besides conferring with many of the leading prison officials, she personally visited most of the houses of detention in Paris, as well as in Rouen, Caen and some other places. In the following year she obtained an official permission to visit all the prisons in that country; and her tour, which extended from Boulogne and Abbeville to Toulouse and Marseilles, resulted in a report which was presented to the minister of the interior and the prefect of police. Before returning to England she had included Geneva, Zürich, Stuttgart and Frankfort-on-Main in her inspection. The summer of 1840 found her travelling through Belgium, Holland and Prussia on the same mission; and in 1841 she also visited Copenhagen. In 1842, through failing health, Mrs Fry was compelled to forgo her plans for a still more widely extended activity, but had the satisfaction of hearing from almost every quarter of Europe that the authorities were giving increased practical effect to her suggestions. In 1844 she was seized with a lingering illness, of which she died on the 12th of October 1845. She was survived by a numerous family, the youngest of whom was born in 1822.

Two interesting volumes ofMemoirs, with Extracts from her Journals and Letters, edited by two of her daughters, were published in 1847. See alsoElizabeth Fry, by G. King Lewis (1910).

FRYXELL, ANDERS(1795-1881), Swedish historian, was born at Hesselskog, Dalsland, Sweden, on the 7th of February 1795. He was educated at Upsala, took holy orders in 1820, was made a doctor of philosophy in 1821, and in 1823 began to publish the great work of his life, theStories from Swedish History. He did not bring this labour to a close until, fifty-six years later, he published the forty-sixth and crowning volume of his vast enterprise. Fryxell, as a historian, appealed to every class by the picturesqueness of his style and the breadth of his research; he had the gift of awakening to an extraordinary degree the national sense in his readers. In 1824 he published hisSwedish Grammar, which was long without a rival. In 1833 he received the title of professor, and in 1835 he was appointed to the incumbency of Sunne, in the diocese of Karlstad, where he resided for the remainder of his life. In 1840 he was elected to the Swedish Academy in succession to the poet Wallin (1779-1839). In 1847 Fryxell received from his bishop permission to withdraw from all the services of the Church, that he might devote himself without interruption to historical investigation. Among his numerous minor writings are prominent hisCharacteristics of Sweden between 1592 and 1600(1830), hisOrigins of the Inaccuracy with which the History of Sweden in Catholic Times has been Treated(1847), and hisContributions to the Literary History of Sweden. It is now beginning to be seen that the abundant labours of Fryxell were rather of a popular than of a scientific order, and although their influence during his lifetime was unbounded, it is only fair to later and exacter historians to admit that they threaten to become obsolete in more than one direction. On the 21st of March 1881 Anders Fryxell died at Stockholm, and in 1884 his daughter Eva Fryxell (born 1829) published from his MS. an interestingHistory of My History, which was really a literary autobiography and displays the persistency and tirelessness of his industry.

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